Matthew Barney

This book is published on the occasion of the Fall 2016 exhibition "Matthew Barney: Facility of DECLINE" at Gladstone, New York, showcasing early works from Matthew Barney’s 1991 New York debut at the gallery’s former SoHo location. Marking a continued collaboration between the artist and gallery, key sculptures, videos, and drawings from the series are reunited for the first time in over twenty years. In a presentation that mirrors the original moment, but does not replicate it, Barney’s works transform complex personal and historical narratives into sculptural objects, employing an unusual range of materials pioneered by the artist: petroleum jelly, prosthetic plastic, tapioca, and cast sucrose.

This in-depth publication traces the progression of the artist’s three most significant early projects:  Facility of INCLINE, Facility of DECLINE, and OTTOshaft. An introduction by Nancy Spector, essay by cultural critic Maggie Nelson, and a text by the artist himself offer a key to understanding major themes that appear throughout Barney's oeuvre. 

Published by Gladstone, 2016

Hardcover
English
200 pages
8 x 11 inches; 20 x 28 cm
ISBN 978-0300223699